Joshua Ledet: ‘I Wish.’ I like the way he moves onstage. It’s gospel-fabulous. The vocals, as always, are on point. And I do see the Fantasia comparisons. I think I’m just not loving the song choice. But Joshua is still among the best.

Elise Testone: ‘I’m Your Baby Tonight.’ Mary’s face when Elise is singing ‘Greatest Love of All’ is worth the entire show. Hilarious. This isn’t horrible, but it’s wrong in lots of places. Screechy and screamy and loud and … OK, it’s horrible. Elise has a great voice, but this is grating at times. Lots of times.

JLo “was wondering what happened.” Steven didn’t like the song choice. Randy says she was “boxing with the song.”

Oh, Elise. Stop talking. Please. No one cares about your excuses.

Jermaine Jones: ‘Knocks Me Off My Feet.’ Lovely voice, to be sure. But there’s just nothing commercial about Jermaine. Sweet but dull. He needs to be given an early exit, mostly for his sake. He’s out of his depth, I think.

Steven said it “fits you like an Armani suit.” JLo wants him to “connect with the song.” Randy didn’t like the choruses.

Erika Van Pelt: ‘I Believe in You and Me.’ Someone please burn this child’s wardrobe. Now. And steer her AWAY from the prom section. Vocally, she’s fine. But just that. Jennifer Hudson did it better. And Whitney? No contest.

Colton Dixon: ‘Lately.’ I was expecting him to David Cook this song, but he just sort of drags it behind him. It picks up in the second-half, thankfully — but I’m still not amazed. Mostly a dreary performance. I was rooting for Colton, but this wasn’t great.

Steven dubs it “outstanding.” JLo calls it “great.” Randy thinks he “slayed it” at the end.

Shannon Magrane: ‘I Have Nothing.’ Annnnnd here it is. I was waiting for this song (and not in a good way). Shannon looks more modern tonight. A good thing. But I still get a princess/pageant vibe. There’s just no passion in this performance. She’s not even in the same universe as Whitney Houston. She’s missing all the power moments. By the end, it’s a trainwreck.

Deandre Brackensick: ‘Master Blaster.’ The truth is, Deandre is better than several of these singers. His vocals are effortless. Not the most obvious song choice, but he absolutely makes it work. I’m glad the judges made one good call and brought him back.

Steven likes his “different flavor.” JLo says he has ‘swagger.” Randy “didn’t want it to stop.”

Skylar Laine: ‘Where Do Broken Hearts Go.’ I’m not sure how this is going to go. Skylar is country through and through. And she looks incredibly nervous. But this isn’t bad. She gives is a bit of a Dolly feel in parts, and I can’t hate on that. I sorta love me some Skylar. She’s injecting some real personality.

JLo says she “gave us our biggest moment of the night.” Steven calls it “a thing of beauty.” Randy dubs it “hot.”

Heejun Han: ‘All in Love is Fair.’ I don’t care if his vocal was a little shaky. This will be a sad competition if he leaves. And he actually does have a nice, clear tone. TEAM HEEJUN. At least for several more weeks. He has heart, which is more than I can say for some of these singers.

Hollie Cavanagh: ‘All the Man That I Need.’ Lovelovelove this song. Her rendition feels a little disjointed, but I think it might be the arrangement. It never really allows her to truly sink her teeth into it. And, well, she gets a little shouty at times. That final note, though — YES, GIRL. She just needs to work on consistency.

Randy says she “nailed it.” JLo thinks she might make the final two. Steven calls it “really nice.”

Jeremy Rosado: ‘Ribbon in the Sky.’ Jeremy is adorable and sweet and sincere. But he needs time to grow, vocally. He’s just not quite there yet. I’d be really surprised if he lasts beyond this week.

Steven calls it “beautiful.” JLo echoes that. Randy didn’t love it.

Jessica Sanchez: ‘I Will Always Love You.’ Um. The end. DONE. There is no one even CLOSE to this girl in the competition. To even attempt that song — and then nail it like that? Fantastic. Eliminate the other 12 now. Thanks.

Randy calls her “one of the best talents in the whole country.” JLo is “speechless.” Steven says she “may be the one.”

Phil Phillips: ‘Superstition.’ This is less grating than he’s been in past weeks. But I feel like we’ve seen this before. Phil is an amalgamation of every psuedo-soul, whitebread, “quirky” singer that’s been on the show. He’s just not going to be a huge pop star.

10 Responses

Joey, if a girls does not win this year, i will never watch this show again!. . . They are so much better than the guys, we are due for a female winner,the final should be between Jessica,and the other short american blonde girl,this two youngsters are just unreal! And i like the fact that miss Lopez and Steven are being more honest with the contestans,before they were putting everybody on a pedestal.

Man, music is so subjective. I LOVE Phil Phillips and Colton Dixon. Jessica Sanchez is an absolutely beautiful singer, but I’d never in a million years buy one of her records. Phil and Colton would get my money for sure. I guess that’s why the judges pick so many different types of musicians. Too bad they won’t let them all play their own original material or at least material written for them. That way no one is disappointed when the person they loved singing Beatles or Elvis songs ends up singing something totally different.

I’d say Jeremy and Shannon in the bottom. Elise wasn’t great, but Shannon was like a nervous kid at a high school talent show.

Jessica was far and away the best. I also liked Hollie, Heejun and Erika. And I’m no country fan or Skylar fan, but I actually liked her performance. It kinda felt like a reverse “I Will Always Love You” — whereas Whitney took Dolly’s very country song and made it a pop ballad classic, Skylar turned a pop ballad into a nice, warm country tune. No hate here.

I’m just sad I tuned in late and missed Joshua. The rest of the guys were boring, and I can’t stand Phillip Phillips.

I was at a loss of what to watch last night, so I saw AI was on and decided to tune in.

As soon as I found out it was a Whitney/Stevie night, I tuned out quicker than you can roll your eyes at the thought of the SAME OL’ SAME OL’ formulaic AI crap.

Really, AI, really? REALLY. It’s not bad enough that so many contestants irrationally think they can sing the catalogues of these two singers and fail miserably, you actually have to force this down our throats?

I realized, far too late, that I watch these shows (AI and The Voice) and yet have ZERO interest in these people as artists after the shows because they simply don’t do anything different and will produce watered down Top 40 pop/R&B/”rock”. And I don’t listen to that stuff at all.

i agree with joey on Jermaine…he has a great voice but seems out of place…he’s more suited for X-factor or America’s Got Talent. I wouldn’t mind seeing Heejun and Jeremy leave and most of the girls butchered Whitney’s songs. It was horrible except Jessica and other blond chick.

Jessica all the way! You are right that no one comes even close to her. Her rendition of “I will always love you” was as good as Whitney….and you don’t get any better than that. What are the 9% of the people in the poll thinking by saying Jessica was the worst…..they have to be tone deaf or just plain prejudiced in some way…..or crazy. I too would like to see a girl win this time. Come on girls and ladies…..stop voting for your male heart throb and be fair. Ok guys……start voting. Let’s get real.